British pig farmers will lay claim to being the most forward-looking in Europe when they join MEPs for a British breakfast in Brussels on Thursday hosted by Vicky Ford MEP.
They will cite the industry’s skilling-up programme in readiness for the global food challenges of the future, along with ground-breaking animal welfare audits and an advanced tracing system for every pig.
‘Combine this can-do attitude with the fact that 90 percent of our pigs are covered by an independently-audited quality assurance scheme and almost a third are also inspected by RSPCA for its animal welfare label, and you can see we really do have something to shout about,’ National Pig Association chairman Richard Longthorp will tell MEPs at a British bacon-and-eggs breakfast organised by the British Agriculture Bureau in association with the NFU and NPA.
‘We're unsubsidised, we’re close to our customers and we work closely with government and regulators to meet societal aspirations, so please help us take further giant strides, by championing our products and our methods,’ he will tell MEPs.
At the breakfast, NPA officials will pursue the sector’s new ‘Keep-It-Up’ messaging which reminds consumers why British pork earns a premium over commodity pork produced on the continent, and urges retailers to stick to their Horsegate promises to delight shoppers by sourcing more British pork.
